


Mending Broken Bottles

by Leonidas1754



Category: South Park
Genre: Cuddling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, No beta reader we die like mne, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, People get drugged but there's no harm otherwise, Pre-Relationship, college party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:53:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26393710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonidas1754/pseuds/Leonidas1754
Summary: A year and a half ago, Stan and Kyle's friendship collapsed, resulting in them barely talking to one another. When Token calls Kyle in the middle of the night to come get Stan from a party, Kyle assumes Stan got drunk again. For better or worse, he's wrong, resulting in a surprising mending of their friendship and the resurfacing of feelings formerly quashed by frustration.
Relationships: Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh
Comments: 4
Kudos: 78





	Mending Broken Bottles

“Kyle, thank god you answered. It’s Stan, he- Can you just come get him? I’ll give you the details when you get here.”

Kyle groaned, looking at the clock. “It’s fucking midnight, dude, I don’t wanna deal with Stan being drunk again. I told him not to go to try to be the DD and-”

“No,” Token interrupted, “He wasn’t drinking. It’s not his fault. Please, he really needs you right now, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who can calm him down.”

Kyle frowned. Token’s call had woken him up, and now that he was shaking off the sleep a little more, he could hear the frantic edge in Token’s voice. “... Text me the address, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, just- I’ll explain everything once you’re here,” Token repeated.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Kyle hung up, pulling himself out of bed.

It was times like this he was glad he’d gotten his own apartment. It was small and dingy and the walls were thin, but it was private and he could come and go as he pleased. It also meant he could drag Stan back without having his parents or any potential roommates freak out. Kyle had to wonder why Token was calling on him now, though.

As they hit college, Stan and Kyle's friendship sort of collapsed. Kyle was finally able to cut shit that was bad for him out of his life and… Well, Stan wasn’t exactly healthy. And when Kyle had tried to confront him about it, that Stan needed to stop fucking drinking and get some help, he’d gotten pissed. Harsh words were exchanged, Stan accusing Kyle of becoming a cold, uncaring dick and Kyle calling Stan selfish, stupid, and self-destructive.

That had been nearly a year and a half ago.

Nowadays they didn’t talk much, and the only reason they talked at all was due to their mutual friends. Part of Kyle did regret it, but he couldn’t let his life be consumed by someone who was destroying themselves and didn’t give enough of a shit about themselves or the people around them to actually bother trying to get better.

Kyle did miss him, though.

Token texted him the address and Kyle pulled up the map, turning in that direction. It wasn’t far, thankfully, so he didn’t bother with his car. If Stan really wasn’t drunk, he could walk home.

When he approached the place, however, he saw police lights flashing, and two cop cars were sitting out front. A third raced past him, and before he knew it he was running full pelt for the frat house, dread spiking.

Token was standing on the sidewalk, looking relieved as Kyle approached. “Thank fuck- Stan’s still with the police, but he’ll probably be out in a few minutes.”

“What the fuck is going on?!” Kyle asked after catching his breath. “Why are the cops here?!”

Token grimaced, glancing back at the house. “Before you freak out completely, Stan is okay, for the most part, same with everyone else, as far as we know. But at least a couple people got fucking roofied, Stan included.”

“He got- Oh god.” Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “Oh my  _ god _ .”

“Yea. It was actually Stan that tipped us off- Craig got drugged too, but we thought he was just handling his whiskey like shit. But Stan… He’d been doing great all night, dude. Hadn’t drank any alcohol at all. Then he suddenly starts acting like he’s been binge drinking for hours.”

“Shit.” Kyle felt slightly bad for thinking Stan had just gotten drunk again, but…

Token seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. “I don’t blame you for assuming he was drunk. I only pretended to drink because I suspected he would fail to keep away himself. When we realized what was happening, he started freaking the fuck out. We tried to help him calm down, but he kept asking for you.”

Kyle didn’t really know how to respond to that. Thankfully, he was saved from doing so as he spotted Stan stumbling out with a police officer guiding him. He strode forward quickly. “Stan!”

“Kyle!” Stan immediately blurted out, looking around a bit before actually spotting him. He lurched forward, wrapping his arms around Kyle’s shoulder. “Someone, they-”

“I know, I know, Token told me everything,” Kyle said, grunting a bit in the effort to keep him up.

“I take it you’re Kyle Brofolvski?” The officer said. Kyle nodded. “He’s been asking for you constantly. Made it even harder to get anything out of him. I think we’ve gotten all we can, though. Let me give you two a ride back home, if you didn’t drive here.”

Kyle nodded again. “My apartment is closer, and I should get him to bed as soon as possible. Do you have any idea..?”

“Not yet. We’ll do everything we can, though, I swear. First thing is making sure those affected get somewhere safe.” 

The officer helped Kyle drag Stan to the police car, Stan refusing to let go of him the entire time. As the officer drove, Kyle sent off a text to Token to keep him updated where the others were concerned- he knew Craig had been drugged and Token was clean, while Tweek, Clyde, and Scott had also been at that party, definitely drinking.

Stan didn't say a word the entire drive back, which was also slightly unnerving. He wasn’t asleep either, Kyle had checked- his eyes were wide as his gaze darted around in a rather accurate approximation of Tweek in their younger days, albeit a lot less twitchy. The officer helped Kyle get Stan upstairs, making sure they were safely in Kyle’s apartment before leaving, giving Kyle a contact number in case Stan remembered anything else.

Kyle settled Stan in his bed, then tugged his shoes off. When he got up, Stan snagged his wrist. Kyle’s heart lurched at the terrified look on Stan’s face. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m just gonna grab my bucket in case you have to puke, okay? I’ll be right back.”

Stan gave a shaky little nod and let go.

Kyle sighed softly and went to his closet, grabbing the bucket. It was one he’d kept for these sorts of scenarios, really, in case he got sick enough to stay in bed or needed to carry a larger amount of something around. It made it a lot easier, not having to worry about getting to the bathroom. He set the bucket beside the bed.

“Here, in case you have to barf. Just take it easy,” Kyle murmured.

Stan looked up at him, seeming quite hesitant. “... You came for me.” His voice was so soft Kyle almost missed what he said.

“I… Yea.” He wanted to say of course he’d come, of course he would go get Stan if he needed it, but… With how things had been lately, Stan had every right to doubt that. “Token sounded pretty serious, when he called.”

“I didn’ know he called.” Stan sniffed. “I was just glad you were there… I’m sorry…”

“Hey, don’t apologize for getting drugged, that’s not your fault,” Kyle said firmly.

“Tha’s not what I’m apologizing for.”

“Hey, hey, don’t-” Kyle tried to push Stan back down as he tried to sit up, but Stan swatted at his arms.

“No!” He yelled, probably a little louder than he intended. “Lemme… Lemme, please.”

Kyle frowned as Stan sat up, slow and careful, to fully face Kyle. “Dude, you need your rest. Whatever’s on your mind, we can talk about it in the morning.”

“No. I need t’ say this.” Stan’s eyes were teary. “I tried not t’ drink, I wanted to prove I could do it. I needed to prove it to myself, and I needed to prove it to you.”

“Stan, just because I said you shouldn’t go-”

“You were  _ right _ ,” Stan interrupted. “I was bein’ selfish an’ stupid ‘cause… I had it in my head that you didn’ give enough of a shit to bother helping me. But I know tha’s not true. Tha’s why you stopped bein’ around me, ‘cause you give  _ too _ much of a shit. I was the one bein’ stupid.”

Kyle slowly shook his head. “I… What the hell brought this on, Stan?”

“I jus’... The other day I had a…” Stan frowned, obviously grasping for the word. “A e-thing.”

“Epiphany?”

“Yea!” Stan grinned a little. “I just realized that… I wanted someone to save me. I wanted them to prove they cared enough to save me from myself, I wanted… I wanted you to prove you cared enough. But tha’s not how it works, huh?”

“... No, no it’s not.”

Stan nodded, looking solemn again. “People can’t help me if I don’t bother helpin’ myself. I thought this could prove it, if I could get everyone home ‘n shit.”

Kyle smiled weakly. “I still think it was a bad idea, but Token said you managed to go the whole night without drinking.”

Stan’s face lit up. “I did?”

“Yea. You did well. Now please, if you’re done, lay down. Rest.” Kyle gently nudged him.

“W-wait, wait.” Stan caught his hand. “Thank you. I missed you so much, an’ I was freakin’ out ‘cause I felt so bad an’ didn’ know how badly I’d been drugged and thought I was gonna  _ die _ an’ I- I didn’ wanna die without you knowin’.”

Kyle shook his head, amused, and gently nudged him down. Stan actually laid down this time. “Moron… I’m sorry for yelling at you back then. It felt like you gave up and didn’t care anymore, and I couldn’t stand it. If you’re set on quitting and getting sober, I’m with you, dude.”

Stan looked incredibly relieved. “Thanks, Kyle.”

Kyle nodded. “Alright, scoot toward the edge a bit.”

Stan moved over and Kyle climbed over him to lay down, staying on his back. “There. Bucket’s right there if you gotta barf,” he reiterated.

Turning over, Stan faced him. “Hey Kyle?”

“What now,” Kyle said, mostly teasing. 

Stan leaned in and closed his eyes, clumsily kissing Kyle’s cheek. Kyle froze up, eyes widening as Stan pulled back slightly and looked amused. He was still rather close. “You’re pretty.”

Kyle blinked, trying to process what just happened. Why had he- No, Stan was drugged, he wasn’t thinking right at all. He’d probably forget it in the morning, or they could laugh about it, or whatever. It was fine. “Go to sleep, Stan, you’re not thinking straight.”

Stan wrapped his arms around Kyle’s right arm, nuzzling into his shoulder. “A’course not, it’s ‘cause I’m bi.”

Kyle couldn’t help his snort at Stan’s terrible sense of humor. God, he missed that. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

It was almost like they were fifteen again, before Kyle realized Stan’s drinking was a serious problem, before Stan’s drinking  _ was _ a serious problem, back when he’d just get tipsy and a little silly and they’d stay up late in the night chatting about nonsense. Stan had been cuddly then, and Kyle took it because he craved the affection.

“I wish I’d’a realized it back then,” Stan said. “But I was mad an’ hurt an’ stupid. It wasn’ worth it. I missed you so much…”

Kyle’s chest tightened as he recognized the tone in Stan’s voice, the one he always got when he felt about to cry. “Here, let go of my arm so I can turn over.” When Stan did so, Kyle turned onto his side, wrapping an arm around Stan and pulling him close. “It’s okay, man. You’re not perfect, you’re gonna make mistakes. It’s not the end of the world. Okay?” On impulse, he kissed Stan’s nose.

Stan smiled a little, leaning in and nuzzling Kyle’s cheek. “Okay.”

Kyle closed his eyes, feeling his face burn as Stan settled so close to him. He kept his arms around Stan, though, holding him in that closeness. Stan settled in against him, and soon, his breathing evened out. Kyle nuzzled him close and let himself relax.

Tomorrow, he’d need to look up how to help recovering alcoholics again. He’d looked things up before, but that was a while ago, and he’d need a refresh if he really wanted to help Stan.


End file.
